UC Irvine

This dissertation explores the pivotal role of urban networks in the context of The Little Farm in Santa Ana, California, and its impact as a relational hub in the city. The study delves into the farm's significance as a central point for fostering collective political engagement and action within the community. This year-long ethnography combines and analyzes data gathered through participant observations, in-depth interviews, and archival documents. By emphasizing the farm's ability to leverage resources from local and regional networks, it created a space for political activism, specifically addressing issues of food apartheid and limited access to green spaces for Latinx and immigrant working families. The farm was a catalyst for establishing community structures such as microenterprise and nonprofit organizations, effectively transforming cultural capital acquired through urban networks into social and economic capital. Farm members strategically invested in residents from local networks to generate community assets from the grassroots level. They ensured that directly impacted residents were included in decision-making processes by establishing a democratically governed social enterprise (i.e., worker cooperative), effectively countering the tendency towards organizational oligarchy in social movement organizations. Through the cultivation of diverse capitals, The Little Farm’s members utilized urban networks to harness agricultural knowledge, cultural traditions, and skills from community experts, ultimately transforming them into collective assets. The Little Farm symbolized resistance and resilience to the city's Latinx and immigrant working families and gave this community a glimpse at the possibilities for future community-driven projects.